ALADDIN (Disney) marked a rebound from the opening day of Dumbo, with preliminary numbers at Deadline projecting $30.8M on Friday (including $7M from Thursday afternoon/evening), compared to $15.3M for Dumbo.  The Memorial Day holiday will provide an extra boost, so the 3-day weekend should be around $86M, with $106M by Monday.  Aladdin wasn’t cheap, […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -10% below last year’s comparable span (1 point worse than last week) and still -2% below the average at this point the past four years ($3.722 billion).  Over the same […]

  OPENINGS:  JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM (Thunder Road/Summit/Lionsgate) continued the upward climb of the franchise in the US with a $57M weekend, substantially ahead of the $30.4M for Wick 2, which was above the $14.4M of the original.  If Parabellum plays out like Wick 2, it could cross $150M in the US, on costs […]

  JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM (Thunder Road/Summit/Lionsgate) marks a rarity these days, a solid and growing mid-level action franchise.  The first John Wick collected $5.4M on its first day and $14.4M for the weekend, the second was at $11M/$30.4M, and according to preliminary numbers at Deadline, Parabellum‘s first day was at $22.5M (including $5.9M […]

  OPENINGS:  POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU (Legendary/Warners) started strong in the US with $58M, not that far off the $69.1M launch of The LEGO Movie.  Pikachu may not have that movie’s legs, especially with Aladdin just 2 weeks away, but it should total $175-200M here.  Pokemon in general is a more worldwide phenomenon than LEGO, which […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -9% below last year’s comparable span (1 point better than last week) and now -2% below the average at this point the past four years ($3.518 billion).  Over the same […]

  OPENINGS:  THE INTRUDER (Screen Gems/Sony) performed on target with $11M, and given the massive competition and the fates of the weekend’s other arrivals, that counted as a win.  It still wasn’t anything to get excited about, considering that similar Screen Gems releases like When The Bough Breaks ($14.2M), No Good Deed ($24.3M) and The […]

WORLDWIDE STUDIO SCORECARD.  Here is an updated look at the 2019 film slates by studio. BOX OFFICE. Looking at North American box office, 2019 is now -10% below last year’s comparable span (3 points better than last week and 8 points better than two weeks ago) and now -3% below the average at this point the […]